Let's share lifts

liftshare Week (3-7 October 2011) is the UK-wide event which aims to encourage and enable more people to discover the benefits of car-sharing. Help your colleagues and friends to start sharing their cars, saving money, reducing stress and being kinder to the environment.

Five things you should know about car-sharing...

1. It can save you a lot of money on petrol costs!

2. It helps you cut your carbon footprint

3. It makes boring solo journeys sociable and fun

4. It reduces stress by allowing you to be chauffeur-driven!

5. You don’t even need a car to sign up to be a car-sharer. Many members are willing to do the driving in return for a contribution to their fuel costs and some friendly company!

With petrol prices hitting record highs this year, liftshare Week is the ideal time to give car-sharing a try. At Chineham Park we have a well established scheme and you can discover more details about it here.

Micro-P Expands At Chineham Park

Micro-Peripherals Ltd, one of the oldest and largest distributors of IT and technology products in the UK reseller market, has expanded at MEPC Chineham Park, Basingstoke's leading business location.

Micro-P has moved from 1 Lindenwood to 1 Elmwood, having increased its Basingstoke workforce by 31% from 130 to 170 employees in the last year.

Mark Kahr, director for Micro-Peripherals Ltd, said: “Micro-P’s business has grown exponentially over the last four years and with our ever expanding workforce, we found ourselves needing to relocate to larger offices.

“We have been in and around Chineham for over 30 years as a business and 20 of those have been on Chineham Park. We see no reason to leave and the park has always been able to meet our needs and once again found us larger offices to allow us to make our third move onsite.

“The newly refurbished offices that we have moved to are state of the art and reflect the company we have become. The park itself is by far the best Basingstoke has to offer in terms of location to both the M3 and M4 motorways and the open areas and green spaces make it a pleasure to work in. We are confident that Chineham Park will continue to support the ever growing business and brand of Micro-P."

Richard Hawkes, estate manager for MEPC Chineham Park, said: “Being able to support the growth of one of our longest occupiers is good news for Chineham Park and for Basingstoke. It is essential that successful companies like Micro-P remain at Chineham Park, creating more job opportunities and attracting new talent to the area. Micro-P has been on the park for 20 years and during this period has relocated onsite three times. On this occasion, Micro-P needed to move quickly and we were able to facilitate and manage a bespoke refurbishment onsite.”

Chineham Park Promotes Outdoor Area With Jazz Band

MEPC Chineham Park, Basingstoke's leading business location, has launched an al fresco area for the summer season with a jazz band entertaining occupiers over lunchtime in the Spindlewood amenity area of the park.

Temperatures have already reached 31oC in Basingstoke this year with more hot weather predicted over the summer months.

Rupert Batho, managing director for MEPC Chineham Park, said: “The improved facility gives our occupiers the chance to enjoy lunch in a ‘continental’ setting in front of the restaurant, have a coffee and a sandwich here or relax on the grassed area opposite under the new canopies.”

Chineham Park has installed new furniture, improved the décor and invested in state of the art sails for the summer months and planters, which create a high quality ambience for the whole Spindlewood amenity area.

Rupert Batho, managing director for MEPC Chineham Park, added: “Chineham Park is constantly improving its environment to ensure the park is kept in excellent condition for its occupiers and onsite visitors.”

Office Accommodation Basingstoke

Chineham Park is home to a wide variety of businesses. Over 50 UK and international companies of all sizes work side by side in one of the UK's strongest business communities.

Onsite facilities include:

• Secure parking
• Shuttle coach service
• Gym, restaurant and nursery
• Networking events

Just two miles from the centre of Basingstoke with fast links to M3, M4, Heathrow and London Waterloo, Chineham Park is within easy reach for commuters, customers and suppliers.

DevelopIQ Adds To Chineham Park's Telecoms Expertise

MEPC Chineham Park, Basingstoke's leading business location, is fast becoming a centre of excellence for telecoms companies looking to relocate in the area.

DevelopIQ, a leading mobile application services provider, has moved into the last remaining vacant suite in Rosewood having acquired two ground floor offices, which total 4,700 sq ft.

DevelopIQ develops, delivers and supports compelling mobile applications for smartphones that create and deliver exciting new mobile channels for leading brands and artists in the music, media and sports sectors. Having partnered with BlackBerry, Vodafone and Telefonica O2, DevelopIQ has a range of clients from the BBC and Barclays Bank to the NHS.

James Shannon, co-founder and CTO of DevelopIQ, said: “We chose to relocate to Chineham Park because of its strong communications infrastructure, good transport links and future flexibility to upgrade within the park.”

Robert Bakewell, co-founder and CEO of DevelopIQ, added: “Having outgrown our existing offices, we expect our new premises in Chineham Park to cater for our rapid expansion from 22 employees currently to over 40 in the next three years as well as provide an innovative technology showcase for our prospective customers.”

Rupert Batho, managing director for MEPC Chineham Park, said: “With several world class telecoms organisations already based at Chineham Park, DevelopIQ’s global expertise in the mobile technology sector helps to establish our position as a centre of excellence for this specialist field. Telecoms is an international market with a highly innovative and dynamic culture so leading companies in this field fit perfectly at Chineham Park. It is important for us and business in Basingstoke to be able to attract pioneering companies like DevelopIQ to the borough.”

Mobile IQ Relocates To Chineham Park

Mobile IQ Ltd, a provider of mobile applications and services to major brands in the UK and the USA, has relocated to MEPC Chineham Park, Basingstoke's leading business location.

Following continued growth in business, Mobile IQ required larger premises and has acquired a lease on the entire top floor of 5 Elmwood.

Originating as a UK company providing mobile web sites in 2005, Mobile IQ has grown through its ability to deliver smartphone and tablet apps for devices including the iPhone and iPad. Clients include the BBC, Channel 4, The Guardian, The Times and the British Medical Association.

Shaun Barriball, founder and managing director of Mobile IQ, said: “We needed to move from our existing, smaller offices in Chineham to accommodate our growing team, having more than doubled our workforce since originally moving to Basingstoke in 2008.

“We chose to move to Chineham Park because it has the space we need to accommodate our extended team and our predicted future growth. As well as this, the park provides us with a modern office space befitting of the services that we offer.”

Rupert Batho, managing director for MEPC Chineham Park, said: “We are delighted to welcome Mobile IQ, a growing and innovative organisation, to the park. Our Elmwood campus is ideal for small and medium sized enterprises that are looking to develop and strengthen their business offering.”

UKN Enhances Portfolio

Specialist IT services firm, UKN Group Limited, has doubled its office space in Basingstoke to facilitate the expansion of its Managed Services client base of Private and Public Sector clients.

UKN has moved its headquarters from the Lindenwood phase of MEPC’s Chineham Park, to 300 Cedarwood, a stand alone, two storey building of 8,300 sq ft.

Michael Eaton, chief executive officer for UKN, said: “Having established our headquarters here at Chineham Park as recently as 2009, our rapid rate of growth meant we needed to move quickly with the least disruption to our business and staff. Our Managed Service business continues to grow which has given us the opportunity to scale up the Service Centre and increase our Professional Service resources. We have also established a technology suite, to demonstrate to our clients and prospects, the comprehensive suite of Cloud Computing capabilities.

“The management team at MEPC was very helpful in securing larger premises and as we wanted to stay in the local area Chineham Park was the natural choice.”

Rupert Batho, managing director for MEPC Chineham Park, added: “At Chineham Park we like to help and support our customers to encourage expansion onsite. We keep in touch with our occupiers, so that we can plan in advance for any growth requirements and we offer flexible terms, so that a customer’s strategic goals can be realised on the park.” Hollis Hockley and Knight Frank advised MEPC.

Richard Thomas from Baker Davidson Thomas, who acted in the acquisition for UKN, said: “This is a real success story, not only for Chineham Park but for Basingstoke, since UKN moved into the town just two years ago and their business has continued to strengthen, somewhat bucking the trend in today’s climate.”